Operation: Dark Strike
by Yellow 13
Summary: the next in story in my Crossover series. with the Ace Combat adventures finished, the Soviets are moving to other universes to defeat the yeerks.
1. Breifing

Operation: Nightlight

Disclaimer: I own nothing except for Supreme Commander Boris Romanov.

Supreme Commander Boris Romanov

1530 Hours Local

The Kremlin, Moscow

Pilot's Ready Room

I was briefing Yellow Squadron on their latest mission. Two of the five pilots where rookies, two where experienced pilots, and one of them was my wingman, Yellow 13.

"Now, it seems that the yeerks have once again tried to move to another universe. We believe that they're trying to build a yeerk pool in New York State. Now, your ordnance for this mission is as follows, two Mark 84 General-purpose bombs, and four AIM-9 Sidewinder Missiles."

This universe was one we had designated as Universe 37432884 (for some reason, the Universe Designation Team called it "Otherworld" why, exactly, I didn't know.) There was, as far as I could see, nothing of value or interest here, but the yeerks where trying to capture it. That made it our responsibility to prevent the capture. So far, there was only one Yeerk Pool with only one entrance and exit, an "Abandoned" building. I was sending Yellow Squadron out on a precision bomb run, fly in, destroy the target, and fly out the same way you came in.

"I wish you the best of luck in battle." I concluded.


	2. Shot down

Captain Patrick "Yellow 13" Roy

Monday, June 19, 2006

2300 hours local

New York State

I love the Su-37. It might not be as powerful as an ADF-01, or as fast as the MiG-25, or as maneuverable as the F-15S/MTD. What it DOES have however, is the perfect combination of the three.

"Yellow Squadron, Skyeye here. You are approaching the target. Now remember that you're heading to a civilian area. Try to minimize collateral damage. Over."

"Skyeye, Yellow 13, Ground attack AND collateral? What are you trying to do, make me go completely insane?"

"Yellow 13, Skyeye, YOU drew this mission, you fly this mission. Isn't that how it goes?"

Well, he did have me there. I did draw this mission, even though it was a ground attack. You see, all the squadrons work on a rotating basis, each squadron leader literally picking a mission slip out of a hat. It makes it fair, as no one knows what's a Ground Attack, Air-Superiority, Combat Air Patrol, Carrier Duty, or even sitting Alert Five.

"Yellow 13 to all, on final for bombing run. Target distance six kilometers."

"Yellow 11 to Skyeye, I'm picking up heavy ECM."

"ECCM! Restore data link!"

"Skyeye, Yellow 4. Data link restored, target is illuminated."

"Target distance five kilometers!"

"Skyeye, Yellow 7, weather conditions worsening, we'd better step on it!"

"Target Distance four kilometers!"

"Skyeye, Yellow 21. Target in sight!"

"Yellow 13 here, More or less…"

"Target distance two kilometers!"

"Yellow 13 to Yellow Squadron, line up! Arm all bombs."

"Target distance one kilometer!"

"Yellow 13 to Yellow Squadron, DROP NOW!"

The bombs released with a dull "bump-bump" noise. My plane, relived of some 4000 pounds of ordinance shot up into the sky. I was faster, lighter and more maneuverable now.

"Yellow Squadron, Skyeye here. I'm picking up ten-no twelve-no a hell of a lot of Bug Fighters. You are cleared to engage on sight!"

AH-HA! A real challenge now! But then, I was one of the greatest aces in the Soviet Union. The battle began in an abnormal fashion. I lead my squadron and the bandits on my six over a Private Estate, and over a deep forest. Essentially, I was trying to fake running away so as 1) I wouldn't endanger civilian lives, 2) so that there was no chance of any more media coverage then there already had to have been, and 3) so I would lure the bandits into a false sense of security. Yellow Squadron retreating without a fight? Never happened.

I immediately did a Somersault maneuver and fired one of my sidewinders at the approaching Bug Fighter. The missile hit, and I zoomed past him at better then Mach two. The other squadron members started firing a second after I did. After a few minuets, all but one of the fighters where shot down. I started to gain on the fighter, and then it disappeared, shot onto my six, and must have fired! My plane went savagely to the right and went into a spiral dive down, down, down to the deck. I somehow got my controls to work a little, and I realized that I could belly-in for a crash landing. The shuddering arrived a few moments later. Finally my plane hit the treetops at high subsonic speeds. I lurched upwards hard, the straps that normally kept me in place snapped, and I hit my head on the Heads-Up-Display. I fought against the waves of pain, but failed and blacked out.

Elena Michaels

Tuesday, 20, 2006

0640 hours local

Stonehaven

During the night, I was woken up several times by some kind of fighter jet. I was almost relieved when the noise stopped. I had watched some of the air battle, at least 14 planes where destroyed, six of those fell into the forest in a spiraling dive, and four planes survived. I got dressed, went downstairs, and intercepted Jeremy who was on his way down to eat breakfast.

After we had all eaten, I started the early morning conversation.

"Jeremy, did you hear those fighters that passed over here last night?" I asked.

"Yeah," he responded. "It was probably a training exercise though."

"One with live rounds? I saw at least eight of the planes blow up, and six of them crashed."

He considered that for a moment and said: "maybe it could have been the real thing. Let's go in and look for survivors."

We set out individually as wolves to make the search easier and faster, but even as a wolf, it was slow going. About four kilometers into the forest, I saw the first chunk of debris; it looked like part of a tail fin. I looked up through the trees, they where fairly undisturbed here, but getting more and more destroyed to the west. I started moving in that direction. Rule number one of debris trails, the more you find, the closer you are to what you're trying to find.

When I got to the crash site, I saw that the plane was-with the exception of all the chunks missing- was in remarkably good shape. Not enough to ever have a hope in hell of getting airborne again, but more or less intact. I howled to let the others know I found one of the six planes that went down. I started moving to the front of the plane. The emblem on the remaining tail fin stated: "ERUSIAN 263RD FIGHTER SQUADRON. We will NOT falter. We will _not_ surrender. We will prevail. YELLOW SQUADRON." And on the nose was a large number "013" emblazoned in yellow

_Erusia? What the heck is Erusia?_ I thought.

After I made my way to the nose of the plane, I caught a whiff of something. At first, I thought it was jet fuel or something like that, and then I realized that it was the pilot! Somehow, still alive after the crash-landing, but barely. I howled again, this time, with a "HURRY UP!" tone. I changed back to human, and started to pull the Plexiglass canopy off. It came loose with a gushing of some kind of hydraulic fluid. I pulled the pilot out of the cockpit as gently as I could. He was about 6 feet tall, medium build, and (after I got his helmet off) pale blond hair, cut fairly short.

I quickly checked him over, looking for any broken bones, not knowing what I would do even if there where any. Jeremy was the medical expert among us; I barely passed High School Biology.

Eventually, everyone came into the crash site, and helped me carry the pilot away. Jeremy ordered me to stay with the pilot in case he woke up.

Captain "Yellow 13" Roy

2000 hours local

I woke up with everything hurting. My arms, legs, chest, head, everything. I fought the waves, and fished into one of my flight suit pockets and pulled out a small survival pack. I opened it, and swallowed one of the antibiotic pills, and one of the painkillers. Once everything stopped spinning, I started to work out where I was and think of what would happen later. _Just remember SERE school, and you'll be fine Bird Dog._ I thought. I looked on the floor, and saw someone in a sleeping bag. The person's head was obscured by part of the bed I was on.

"Hey, on the floor!" I yelled, with horsiness to my voice. The person on the floor woke up with a yelp of shock, then one of pain as I herd the CLANG of bone hitting metal. I could tell from the voice that the person on the ground was a woman.

Eventually, she must have gotten up and turned on the lights, because I was suddenly blinded by light. In reflex, I yanked the sheets over my head and blinked hard for a few moments. Eventually, I could see well enough again, and pulled the sheets off my head.

I saw the woman near my bed and I gave the usual spill before she asked. "Captain Patrick Roy, callsign: Bird Dog. Leader of the 263rd Fighter Squadron. Service number, 3469-1458-3285."

She looked at me blankly for a few seconds; as if that was the last thing she would have wanted to know. _Which, _I reminded myself._ IS the last thing they want to hear. They want information on missions, current intelligence, a list of superiors, location of bases, weapons statistics, a list of your family and friends, and so on._

"Well, it looks like you're conscience." She said. "Just stay here and I'll go get the others."

"Wait," I said. "First meeting usually warrant introductions."

"My name is Elena Michles," she said. "Now, just wait there, and I'll be back."

She didn't return for nearly 15 minuets. When she came back, she was with four other guys.

"Hello," the one in the lead said. "My name is Jeremy Danvers. I'm the owner of this house, and this," he pointed to one of the four people. "Is my adopted son Clayton and these" he shifted his finger to the remaining two people. "Are my friends Antonio Sorrento and his son Nick."

"Nice to meet, you all." I said, waiting for the interrogations to start. We started talking about various topics, from the Soviet political policies, to my war stories, but generally staying away from anything near and dear to me. Eventually, they left, and I went to sleep.

I sure as hell wasn't awake when the teeth sank in. I bolted awake, trying to see what was attacking me, but it was too dark. I formed a fist with my good hand and threw a roundhouse punch in the general direction of my attacker. I herd a dog-like yelp of pain, and the teeth released my other arm. I went into another of my flight suit's pockets, pulled out a silenced Uzi machine gun and fired. The muzzle flashes illuminated the target. It was a wolf, and a big motherfucker of one at that. A few of the shots hit, stitching the target in a horizontal line with bloody explosions. The reason I went in a line is because I was trained to do that, and because that would insure that I would get hot lead into at least some body parts that where either vital, or relatively unarmored.

The wolf eventually fell, I guess it died. I felt oddly warm, almost like the feeling of a good, well-earned kill. The kind of kill I get during training dogfights with Mobius 1 and I manage to shoot him down. Then, without even the slightest warning, I went ramrod stiff, and blacked out more completely then in all my life.


	3. Havoc has arrived

Supreme Commander Romanov

Wednesday, June 21, 2006

0730 hours local

The Kremlin, Moscow

I was typing up my after-action report.

**Yellow Squadron After-Action Report**

**BDA: 100 **

**Collateral Damage: Zero**

**Casualty rate: 20 **

**Remarks: the media knows something has happened, but they don't know what. As yet, no comment is being given. Any links to Yellow Squadron will be regarded as a Federal Felony. The bombing run was a total success however; Yellow 13, the Squadron Leader was shot down, and is MIA. Other squadron members debriefings are conflicted. **

**Recommendations: Ground Yellow Squadron until Yellow 13 can be found, if SAR takes longer then two weeks, place a temporary Squadron Leader for Yellow Squadron. **

I placed the report in my outbox. Yellow Squadron would read it, the Erusian Air Force would review it, and the Erusian High Command would confirm it. I knew that this wouldn't sit well with the Erusian Command, but it was necessary to prevent further losses of some of there base aces.

I started mentally reviewing the debriefs.

Yellow 11 said that he saw Yellow 13 get shot and blow up in midair without ejecting. Yellow 7 said that he saw an ejection, but no chute. Yellow 21 saw a chute, but couldn't tell where it landed. And finally, Yellow 4 said she saw 13 belly-in over the forest, although from her altitude she could not tell if 13 had bailed out, where he ended or even if his plane exploded after the crash-landing.

Elena Michaels

0821 hours local

Stonehaven

I went downstairs after I woke up. As I was going down to get something to eat, when I thought I smelled gunpowder. I followed it, and it was accompanied by the smell of death, slight decay, and-oh, god no!- a Werewolf that I didn't recognize. I was running now, desperately hoping I was wrong. The smell was strongest as I got to where Bird Dog was left. I opened the door, praying to every God I knew and hoping desperately that my nose was wrong. When I saw what was behind the door, I almost puked. The smell was overpowering and the shock was almost more then I could take.

Bird Dog was covered with vomit, blood, and bodily waste. On the ground, I saw a wolf. One of the mutts that Jeremy had almost considered letting into the Pack on the ground with multiple gunshot wounds.

After I recovered, I ran as fast as I could to the dining room. Jeremy must have smelled my panic as soon as I got within his scenting range. Even though he was eating, he knew something was totally and horribly wrong. He intercepted me and asked: "what's wrong?"

I tried to tell him what I saw, but it came out in an incoherent jumble of words. He somehow understood some of the words, and rushed into the room where Bird Dog was. He put restraints on him, and started giving small amounts of water to keep the pilot hydrated, and got the dead werewolf out.

I felt truly sorry for Bird Dog. One second, he was-as far as I knew- one of the best combat pilots anywhere, the next, a werewolf. It was literally hell for me becoming one, if he was going through the same things, it had to be at least doubly so for him. He came in practically half-dead, and again, if he was going through what I went through, there was very little chance he would survive.

Capitan Nick Parker "Havoc"

1200 hours local

I was Para-inserted into a forest in New York State. My mission was simple: locate Yellow 13's aircraft or the Black Boxes, find Yellow 13, IF POSSIBLE, and retreat to the extraction point.

"This is Havoc," I said into my EVA (Electronic Video Assistant) "I'm in. what happens if I see yeerks?"

"This is a Stealth Mission, Havoc." General Locke, my Commanding Officer said. "As such, you have a strict "Shoot only when shot at" policy."

"Okay, so what do I do if this wild goose chase takes me into that city?"

"Change into your civilians, put away your weapons, and try to look like a tourist."

"Roger that, out." I clicked off the radio, and started making my way towards the faint signal that let me know if I was getting closer or farther away from the Black Boxes.

I moved through the forest like a ghost, being as silent as possible. I encountered a wolf a few kilometres in. I dove for cover in a bush and lay absolutely motionless. Normally, wolves don't go anywhere near humans, but this one either was too hungry not to care, or simply thought I was easy prey. I waited for a few minuets, only moving in the slightest to breathe, staring at the wolf, waiting for it to leave. Eventually, the wolf went away, and I started walking again.

It was dark out by the time I got to Yellow 13's fighter. I looked around, and saw that the canopy had already been blown, or became dislodged. I took out a multi-tool, and began removing the armour in the tail section-or what was left of it- to expose the Black Box Recorders.

I reviewed the tapes on my EVA. The Visual and Audio running at the same time. I fast-forwarded the tapes to the crash. I saw the plane from the Visual smack down hard against the trees, the screen flash into static for a few moments, and then clear up again as the plane crashed to a halt.

I then fast-forwarded until I saw something of interest. A wolf's paws, then the entire wolf. It was pale yellow colour and I thought it was the same one I had seen earlier. I heard a two howls, the second one was clearly different, but as to how, I could not tell. The wolf vanished, then a women stepped out, and started to pry lose the canopy. The strange thing was that she was naked. _What the hell was a naked woman doing out here? _I wondered. _And where had she come from? At least, the wolf shouldn't have been around if a human was here… unless she was literally raised by wolves. _I saw Mystery Woman Number One pull out Yellow 13, and disappear off the visual sensors.

"Home Plate, this is Runner. I've found the plane you lost, and I'm downloading the Black Box recordings to you now. Yellow 13 is nowhere to be seen, repeat, nowhere to be seen."

"Understood Runner, ready to receive download," Locke said.

I selected "DOWNLOAD" from my EVA Unit's display, and watched the download's progress.

"Hmm… alright, Havoc, I've seen the tape. We're running an ID on this woman now, but it'll take some time. There are plenty of people in the Soviet Union, and we haven't had enough time to ID everyone in that universe either."

"So you're saying we don't know who she is?" I asked

"Correct, there are on average, about seven billion people in every universe we've went to." He said, sounding slightly amused.

"Okay Locke, I'll do a little recon myself. Over and Out."

I went to sleep a few minuets later, in a tree. I didn't want any forest animals on the ground to start gnawing at me while I slept.

Elena Michaels

1200 hours local

Jeremy said for me to go take a run, so that's what I did. It calmed my nerves when I ran, and gave me something else to thing about. After a few minuets of running, I smelt someone. Not a werewolf and not someone who should have been here. I saw a flash of movement as the person dove into a deep bush. From what little I could see, (my vision as a wolf is distorted and the colours are muted.) he was staying absolutely motionless. I stared at his general area for a few minuets, saw that he wasn't doing anything that could even be remotely considered hostile then my wolf instincts kicked in, and I turned and kept on running. Eventually, I decided to return to Stonehaven, but it was getting dark. Not that a wolf can't navigate in the night, but I didn't want to return just yet. I had already seen one freshly turned werewolf, and it wasn't a pleasant experience, plus, she had died a few hours later. I didn't want that to happen to Bird Dog. Even in the bed, badly injured, 13 exuded an air of invincibility. Now that air was gone, plus he was facing almost certain death. Now, I'm not one of those people who can't handle seeing someone die. I've killed a few times myself, but there was something about seeing a person I barely knew, and who seemed like a reasonably nice guy, die for no reason other then to temporally satisfy some mutt's craving for food.

Mutts where non-Pack werewolves. Generally, they either steal from, kill and/or often eat humans. According to my dossiers, this particular one was just a thief though.

I eventually drifted off to sleep, knowing that Jeremy could contact me and find out where I was, but I also knew that he would have his hands full with Bird Dog.


	4. Information gathering

Captain "Havoc" Parker

Thursday, 22, 2006

0445 hours local

14 kilometres south of Bear Valley

I woke up in the tree and checked myself over. No bug bites, no other animal bites, okay. I was good to go. I started to make my way towards the nearby town. I saw that wolf again, this time, asleep. I started to creep by it, when a branch snapped. The wolf was up in a flash. It started to growl at me, and I drew my K2 Impactor. The K2 was a stun gun that fired two electrodes into the target, and then zapped the hell out of it with over 20,000 volts of electricity. The drawback was that the electrodes could not go very far from the gun, about 21 feet away. Making it a short-range weapon, but it dropped the target instantly with no sound, AND gives temporary amnesia so you're impossible to identify.

I aimed the K2 at the wolf, waiting for it to come within range-it was about 23 feet away-and it seemed to just stay there, alert, fur raised, and growling, but doing nothing to attack. I kept my arm steady, aiming right for the head. For the next few minuets, this continued, me with my arm raised, ready to fire, the wolf staying out of range and growling. Eventually, it was the wolf that backed down first.

"Havoc, what was that?" Locke asked.

"Just some dumb wolf, nothing to get excited about, Locke." I said.

"Copy that, Havoc. What's your ETA?"

"At this pace, I give it about another two hours."

"Okay, I'll contact you when you get there. Over and Out."

Eventually, I made my way to the outskirts of the forest, changed into my civilian cloths, packed away my uniform, weapons and everything else military and made my way into the town.

"Havoc, I see you've entered the town, good job. I trust you still remember the extraction point?"

"That's a roger Locke," I said. "What's SpySat saying about this location? Have you got any IDs yet?"

"Actually, yes," he said. "I'm sending you the file now."

I checked my EVA as the video link came in. I read the profiles.

Elena Michaels

Age 28

Current Residence: Toronto, Canada

Occupation: Journalist

I skipped to the photo.

"Hey, Locke, that's the same girl that helped 13 outta his plane!"

"Yes, we noticed that to." He said, sounding slightly annoyed.

"Any ideas on what she's doing here?"

"Her official reason for visit is that she's staying with some relatives, however if you'll look at the next IDs…" he prompted.

I went to the next profile,

Name: Clayton Danvers

Age: 32

Current Residence: Bear Valley, USA

Occupation: N/A

"Umm… Locke, this guy's got no job. What gives?"

"We couldn't find one, but from various Universities, we've got reports of him giving lectures."

"So this guy's a proff, huh? Sure doesn't look like one."

"Keep reading, Havoc…"

I went to the next one,

Jeremy Danvers

Age: 51

Current Residence: Bear Valley, USA

Occupation: Painter

"Okay, if that guys fifty one, I'm celebrating a bicentennial today!" I said.

"We saw that to, Havoc. If you want my guess, I'd say that he's just remarkably well-preserved."

"And what's this about him being a painter?"

"We've looked into that, apparently, he doesn't often make sales, but when he does, they usually bring in a lot of money."

"She's got one weird family… "And this doesn't explain what she was doing naked in a forest!"

"I quite agree, but then stranger things have happened."

"Like how we're the only universe with a Chronosphere?"

"Exactly."

Elena Michaels

Thursday, 22, 2006

0445 hours local

14 kilometres south of Bear Valley

I woke up to the sound of a branch breaking. I looked around, and saw that the Commando-Guy as I'd come to know him by, stood up, and pointed some kind of weapon at me. I got up, and stood motionless. I didn't know what that gun could do, and I didn't want to find out. I turned and walked away, not looking back.

After I got back to Stonehaven, I Changed back, had breakfast, and went to check on Bird Dog.

"How's he doing?" I asked

"Not well, but getting better from all the injuries he sustained during the crash." Jeremy said, while making sure the restraints where still okay.

"Maybe when he wakes up and is lucid, we can ask him about what he was doing over us before he got shot down, plus, there was this commando guy in the forest. I heard him talking about Bird Dog while I was out on my run."

"A commando?"

"Or some kind of soviet operative," I then explained everything I knew about that guy, height, an accurate description, and what info I had on that gun he almost shot me with. I went on the internet to find out more about the New Soviet Union. It was one of those things that just seemed to pop up overnight, what was even weirder was that the US was taken down as the world's number one superpower.

Now, seeing as that I was a journalist on politics, I decided to take a step up from Canadian to International. I started digging, calling, and generally trying to talk to anyone that would answer me.

I eventually got a line to the KGB Commander, one Commander Volgin.

"Da, Commander Volgin here." There was only a thin trace of an accent to his words.

"Hello Commander Volgin, my name is Elena Michaels. I've wanted to talk with you for some time."

"I see, well what is it you want to talk about?"

"There was an air battle over US airspace above the city of Bear Valley. What was that about?"

"I'm sorry, I cannot answer that. You'll have to either talk to the missing Squadron Leader, the Supreme Commander of the Soviet Union, or the Air Force General Malcolm Granger. I believe he's stationed in Huston, Texas."

"Ah," I said. "Thank you for your time." And then I hung up.

Supreme Commander Romanov

Thursday, 22, 2006

1230 hours local

The Kremlin Moscow

The red phone on my desk started ringing. I frowned, and answered it, wondering who would dare incur my wrath while I was doing the paperwork that was accumulating in my Inbox.

"Da?" I asked, with a note of frustration in my voice.

"Commander Romanov, this is Commander Volgin."

_Commander Volgin? This must be important. _I thought.

"What is this concerning?" I asked.

"Go to a scrambler. This line could be tapped."

_Scrambling? This IS important… _I set the scrambler channel, and waited for Volgin to do the same.

"So, what is this about?" I asked.

"My people have just traced a call that came into my office. A person named Elena Michaels is trying to reach you about the air strike against Bear Valley a few days ago. Also, satellite reconnaissance has picked up Yellow 13. He is being held in a city in the United States called "Bear Valley".

The news struck me like a physical blow,

"WHAT!"

"Da, Confirmed about ten minuets ago, sir. My Ocelot unit is ready to move in and bring 13 back to base; all I need is a go."

"Not just yet. Where they civilians or controllers?"

"Our PSISAT didn't detect any yeerks in the area, but there was concern, sir."

"About what?"

"The PSISAT didn't detect yeerks, but it DID detect something… irregular in its wide-scan. I think it could be-"

"It does not matter what the satellite picked up on wide-scan. We both know it's notoriously erratic on wide-scan."

"Da, sir."


	5. a new werewolf

Supreme Commander Romanov

Thursday, 22, 2006

1730 hours local

En Route to Bear Valley

I was sitting in an Mi-64 "Havoc" Helicopter en route to this Private Estate where Commander Volgin said Yellow 13 was being kept.

"Comrade Commander," General Tesla yelled over the noise of the helicopter. "I don't see why it's necessary to bring me along as well."

"In case these people try anything, you can easily short-circuit there equipment and you can stun them in case they try to stop us." I explained.

"Also," Commander Volgin said "with me and you, no one is going to make an attempt on the Comrade's life."

"I see, what's our ETA?"

Commander Volgin went up to the cockpit and relayed the question.

"About four more minuets, Comrade." The pilot responded

"Well, that's good." General Tesla said.

General Tesla was wearing his custom-made combat suit. It was made of a combination of rubber, Kevlar and a few Tesla coils (scaled-down naturally). The suit made him very dangerous, as it could be charged with electricity, making it very difficult to attack in close-quarters combat, and at range, he could essentially "Throw" electricity in a similar manner as the Tesla coil.

Four minuets later, we landed in the Private Estate. Volgin, Tesla and I stooped to avoid the still turning rotor blades of the helicopter, and started to make our way inside.

We got about halfway there when we where intercepted by Elena Michaels, a potential member of the militia that captured Yellow 13.

"What are you doing here?" she yelled over the noise of the helicopter as it was powering down.

"We're taking a look around." I said after the helicopter powered down.

She looked at the three of us for a few seconds, then a look from Commander Yevgeny Borisovitch Volgin convinced her to let us in. he has a tendency to do that, he terrifies his enemies with a single look so that he can mould them like clay. There was even one incident where he was surrounded by over 100 Navy SEALS, and he managed to single-handedly without a weapon, make them all surrender. Hell, he even terrifies ME sometimes. Not a task that is easily done.

Captain "Bird Dog" Roy

1800 hours local

Inside Stonehaven

I woke up slowly, trying to figure out what the hell just happened. I went to see if I had any large bumps on the head, or things like that, when I noticed that my arms and legs where restrained.

"What the hell?" I muttered.

I slowly untied myself, another good thing from SERE School (Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape) is that they show you how to escape from almost any type of restraint including, handcuffs, ropes, and chains. After I untied myself, and fell to the floor, I started trying to work out why exactly I was so weak and slow.

_Has to be some kind of muscle weakness._ I thought. I started to make my way towards the door to get out of that place, when my body was suddenly wracked with immense pain. More pain then I had ever experienced in my life up to that point. I must have blacked out near the beginning; the pain was simply too much, too hard, too fast.

I woke up a few minuets later to the smell of food. I got up, started running towards the door, and crashed against it sending it flying off its hinges.

Elena Michaels

The three people from the helicopter where talking with Jeremy. The lead guy had the largest rank insignias of anyone I had ever seen. The guy on his right was a tall and looked to be quite strong with a gaze that made me want to scramble for cover. The guy on the left wore some kind of black combat suit with dozens of white things covering it. The lead guy introduced himself as Supreme Commander Boris Romanov, the big guy was Commander Yevgeny Borisovitch Volgin, and the guy in the suit was called General Nikola Tesla III. The three of them sat down in separate chairs and began discussing the release of the pilot Patrick Roy, nickname "Bird Dog"

Clay came down once during the conversation, but an order from Jeremy and a Glacier-cold stare from Volgin sent him running back up the stairs. I heard it first, a dull "Wumph". It wasn't until I saw and smelt a wolf that I began to worry. The wolf charged at us, I dived out of the way; landing on a table with a CRASH, Jeremy was moving as well, trying to get out of the room as quickly and quietly as possible.

The three military goons, where moving as well. The lead guy grabbed a large knife out from his pocket, the guy in the suit did something to it, and electricity started to arc and spark across it, the big guy just stood there, glaring at the wolf.

I knew from the scent that it was Bird Dog, and that he was hungry. I decided to leave the room as well. I had an unpleasant encounter with another freshly-turned werewolf, and it wasn't one I was willing to repeat.

Supreme Commander Romanov

The wolf seemed to come from nowhere, and Elena and Jeremy already left the room, leaving us to deal with it.

General Tesla powered up his suit, and Volgin got himself ready. The wolf started running, and then jumped into the air, aiming for General Tesla.

The wolf impacted him in the stomach, knocking him down, but otherwise unhurt, while the wolf got a massive dose of electrical current. Tesla got up and fired one of his bolts at the wolf, hitting it in the chest. The electricity caused the wolf to go into a large amount of muscle spasms, and causing its fur to stand on end. I was on the wolf as soon as Tesla stopped, grabbing a chair and slamming it down as hard as I could. The crash was mingled with a sharp CRACK of bones snapping, and the wolf was down on the floor, bleeding and a little singed.

As soon as the wolf was down, Jeremy and Elena came back into the room, they guessed what had happened.

"Did he bit any of you?" Jeremy asked.

"Nyet, he only crashed into me knocking me down, but I'm fine." General Tesla said.

"Let's go," I said in Russian. "Obviously, they don't want to give us back Yellow 13, when we begin our final operations, we'll get him out with force."

And with that, we strode out towards the helicopter.

When we got back to Moscow, I skipped my usual two hours of paperwork; there was MUCH to be done.


	6. Final Operations

Elena Michaels

1926 hours local

Stonehaven

"I overheard the Russians talking about them coming back 'With Force'." Jeremy began. "We need to wake Bird Dog up, and ask him about this."

"Shouldn't we treat his wounds first?" Antonio asked.

"We can do that as we are asking him."

We all went down to where Bird Dog was, and Jeremy treated his wounds, without antithetic until he woke up. When he did, he started screaming until Jeremy stopped.

When he was calm enough from the painkillers, but still coherent enough to answer questions, I asked: "we just got a visit from three people in the military. One introduced himself as 'General Nikola Tesla III' another as 'Commander Yevgeny Borisovitch Volgin' and the third as "Supreme Commander Boris Romanov'" and I gave him the descriptions of the three.

With the first name and description, he chuckled to himself, with the second name, he shuddered, and with the third, his jaw dropped.

"Well, that explains the escort," he said, after closing his jaw. "Did they get what they wanted?"

"No, you attacked us in the meeting, and they left shortly afterward."

"That's not good. Now, they'll probably go for subtlety. The GRU, or the Cobras. Most likely though, it'll be the GRU."

"The GRU? Who are they?"

"The GRU is mostly Soviet Special Forces, Spetsnaz, and stuff like that. The GRU's leader is extremely good at gathering information, and assassination I don't know what she looks like, but any man that she targets; she gets the information almost all the time."

"She?" I asked. "I think I'll be able to handle her then."

"Don't get to cocky yet. I don't even know what she looks or sounds like. Plus, she won't target you, Elena. She only targets men. I only know of her from what little reputation she has."

"And who are these 'Cobras'?" who are they?"

"The Cobras are a splinter group of the GUR. They consist of six members, each one codenamed by the emotions they feel on the battlefield. First, there's 'The Pain', second is 'The Fear' third is 'The Fury' forth is 'The End' the fifth is 'The Sorrow', and lastly is 'The Boss' AKA "The Joy'."

"Okay, and I also overheard something about 'Final Operations' what does that mean?" Jeremy asked.

"Final Operations are done to--" He stopped in mid-sentence. "Why am I even telling you this? You wouldn't believe it anyways."

I smiled and said: "try us,"

"Okay," he said. "I'm from another universe. That's why you've probably never seen the Erusian Flag until now. The New Soviet Union is from another universe, one that has started going to other universes for resources, funding, and so on as all of those on their own have been used up during all the world wars that they had. After the wars, they wanted to get into space and start taraforming other planets, but to do that, they needed money. Eventually, they got to another universe, but that one's Earth was under subtle attack by aliens called 'Yeerks'." He explained at length or about 15 minuets, about his home universe, the yeerks, their intentions, the soviets and there intentions, and a little about how to contact Premier Alexander Romanov.

"Now that I have told you guys everything I know, I think you should tell me a few things. Firstly, why did I just try to EAT three of my superiors!"

"Brace yourself for a bit of a shock," I said, and waited for a few seconds. "As of now, you are a werewolf."

He started to smile, then thought better of it.

"But I thought that werewolves could only be hurt with silver. That chair-"

"Common misconception. Anything that can hurt a human can hurt a werewolf, it's just that we can take more damage and we heal faster." Jeremy said. "We'll tell you everything you need to know and train you later. But for now, just rest."

"One last thing," Bird Dog said. "If the Final Operations are coming, call the Sukhoi Design Bureau in Moscow. Place a build order for an Su-37 "Terminator" with Yellow Squadron's paint scheme. When the Final Operations start, I want to be a part of them."

"I'll see what I can do." Jeremy said, and we left.

Supreme Commander Romanov

2345 Hours local

The Kremlin, Moscow

General's Conference Room

I called a meeting between all the Generals to discuss the best course of action in dealing with removing the one yeerk presence in this universe out, recovering Yellow 13, and getting Havoc out of Bear Valley.

"First things first," General Towns said. "We need to make a legitimate reason-or at least, a plausible one- before we begin."

"We don't have time for that," I said. "If we are going to attack, it has to be hard, fast and NOW."

"I agree with the Commander," General Granger said. "They have one of our pilots down there, and we need to extract him ASAP."

Eventually, we all agreed that it was best if we attack the next day.

The Air Force would deploy The Apocalypse Squadron which I myself was a part of, while General Kwi would deploy tanks and light vehicles to secure the ground targets.

The meeting was concluded at 0321 hours, and all the Generals taking part in the Final Operations would get some rest.

0950 hours local

Saturday, 24, 2006

SS Hrimfaxi

Hudson Bay

I did another quick check of my instruments. Fuel Gage, power to laser, Radar, ejection System, Oil Pressure, Altimeter, and the air Speed Gauge. If any one of those was off, there would be a Red Deck call, and I'd have to get pre-flighted all over again. After seeing that each one of those systems was okay, I gave a thumbs up, quite aware that the flight crew couldn't see me in the ADF-01 FALKEN, but it never hurt.

"Stalin 1, you are cleared for takeoff." The Air Boss said. I rammed the throttles to full power, felt the rising speed of the catapult, and in just over 40 meters in less then tow seconds. The FALKEN hung in the air for a moment, dangerously close to a stall, then, I settled the plane into a gentle climb.

"Stalin 1 to all aircraft," I said into the tactical circuit. "We need to catch the yeerks unaware. Let's head for the deck, and hug it at hypersonic. Over"

"Roger Stalin 1, going to hypersonic in 5… 4… 3… 2… 1… PUNCH IT!"

The ADF-01 went from normal cruising speeds to hypersonic in under 30 seconds. Not the best time, but considering the altitude, it was good enough. Within a few minuets, we blitzed over Bear Valley so fast and so low, that anyone below must have been deafened by the sonic boom. We slowed to combat speeds, and pulled up to an altitude of 3000 meters. If the yeerks didn't know we where here after the fly-over, they certainly did now.

"This is AWACS Thunderhead; we've picked up multiple bandits approaching on vector 280 degrees. You are cleared to engage on sight. General Kwi will begin his assault shortly. Over"

I saw them. Big, fat, ugly fighters that looked almost like a cockroach. I armed my Phoenix missiles and fired two of the heavy, fast, and long range missiles.

"Stalin 1, Missiles away!"

"Ace, Missiles away!"

"Mobius 1, Missiles away!"

"Ofnir 1, Missiles away!"

"Grabacr 1, Missiles away!"

"Blaze, Missiles away!"

"Tinman, Missiles away."

The fourteen missiles sailed right towards the enemy squadrons. The first three hit, the fourth missed, and then the rest hit, and took the bandits on a defensive formation. I ditched the remaining Phoenix missiles after that. The Phoenix missile has an extremely good range, but the downside is that it doesn't have its own radar, and needs a link from the plane that shot it. In addition, it's a radar guided weapon, meaning that Electronic Countermeasures can cause it to go off course, and miss. The one thing it was good for, was putting the other guy on a defensive formation, and disrupting there attack.

I went for the Sidewinders, the perfect weapon choice for a knife-fight.

Elena Michaels

1010 hours local

Bear Valley, USA

I was on my way to pick up the groceries when I saw something off to the horizon. Something -several somethings- small, dark, and very, VERY fast. I realised what they where only after they passed overhead. Then the sonic boom and shards of glass hit me. When my hearing came back, I picked up my cell phone and called Jeremy. Luckily, he was there, and picked it up.

"Jeremy!" I yelled, still a little deaf. "We've got problems! I just saw at least seven fighter jets pass overhead! I think that commando might still be around! I could use some help!"

"Okay, we're on our way."

Captain "Havoc" Parker

I was making my way to the extraction point when I saw Jeremy Danvers, plus a few others jump into a car and drive off towards the town. I hotwired the nearest car and headed after them. After a while of following them, they got out, and started to help Elena. I bolted out of the car, snuck up on Nick Sorrento, held him in a headlock, and put a standard-issue hunting knife to his throat

"Start talking!" I yelled, making sure she could see as well as feel the knife.

"A-a-bout what?" He stammered.

"WHERE'S YELLOW 13?"

"He's taking a different car with Clay, and Jeremy! Please don't hurt me!" he managed to stammer. I decided against slicing his throat, and decided on just giving him a very fast headfirst trip onto the pavement. Not hard enough to kill, but enough to knock him out for a few minuets.

Once I saw the other car carrying Yellow 13, I stopped it by shooting out a tire. The car stopped, and all three people got out, Yellow 13 looking fairly beaten up, or something. I then started to inch closer on my stomach to minimize the noise I caused. I did my best, but Clay spotted me and started circling. I copied his movements, neither of us wanting to make the first move and allow the other an immediate advantage. Eventually, Yellow 13 stepped in between us, stared at me and said: "Havoc, what are you doing here? I'm fine. I was injured in the crash-landing, and they helped me!"

"Well then, follow me; I'll get you to the extraction point!"

"That's a negative, Havoc. There was a little bit of a problem, and I've got to stay with them for a bit longer. Sorry."

I sighed and contacted Locke.

"Hey Locke, I found Yellow 13, but he doesn't want to leave just yet." All I got was static for a response.

"Bad news guys," I said. "Looks like my EVA's down. We're going to have to use the radio, and they probably changed the frequency for the attack."

13 groaned, while the others just stood there.

"I'll start trying the radio, but we need to get you guys to safety." I said.

Supreme Commander Romanov

Over Bear Valley

I fired two of my sidewinders, and pulled away. The Bug Fighter I targeted started weaving and jinking trying to get the missile off him by trying to confuse it with hard manoeuvres. That WOULD work on a Sparrow, or a Phoenix missile, but not against a sidewinder. The sparrow is a radar-guided weapon, but it has shorter range. Hard manoeuvres can throw it off, but the sidewinder is a heat-seeker. The missile arrowed in and killed the fighter when another fighter tried to shoot at me. I pulled the FALKEN into a hard right turn, and dumped a cloud of Chaff and flares behind me, and headed for the deck.

"SOMEONE DELOUSE MY SIX!" I yelled.

"Already on it," Ace said as I say his F-22A "Raptor" go behind me, and shoot down the enemy plane.

I formed up with Mobius 1, and we went into the "Loose-Deuce" formation. –Me in front, down low, while Mobius was above and to my left.- The enemies where all over now, most coming towards me. Mobius 1 let off a salvo of Sparrow missiles, and launched a few sidewinders in for good measure.

Now, if I make this seem orderly and calm, that's because those are the parts I remember most. It was chaos up there as both sides strove for air superiority. A furball –a multi aircraft engagement. - is like that. Each guy looking for that perfect killing position or above and behind, only to have the other guy evade and do the same.

I got a radar lock on another enemy plane; this one was a new fighter that the yeerks designed. It was faster, more manoeuvrable, and could carry more weapons then the Bug Fighter. This craft was called a Blade Fighter, and was given to only the best as there where only a handful of prototypes in existence.

I switched to guns as the fighter was too close for a sidewinder to lock-on. The Vulcan Cannon let lose with a buzz saw shriek that hit the Blade Fighter and slashed off one of its two engines. The fighter spiralled end-over-end into the city, unable to regain control of the craft.

Captain "Bird Dog" Roy

"GODDAMMIT BIRD DOG!" Elena yelled as a plane crashed only a few meters away. "TELL THEM WE'RE ON THERE SIDE!"

"Rule Number one of combat, Miss," I said. "Friendly fire isn't!"

"AH-HA!" Havoc yelled from his hiding spot.

"Did you get them?" I asked, excited.

"Still can't raise HQ, but I think we're tapped into the aircrafts tactical channel. I can hear the pilots talking to one another!"

"YOU CAN? GREAT! Let's hear!"

I keyed the radio to the right frequency and heard: "LOCK! TONE! FOX THREE! FOX THREE!" Mobius 1. I could have recognized his voice anywhere. I pressed the transmit key.

"Mobius 1! Mobius 1! This is Yellow 13, do you copy?"  
There was a pause, then: "Yellow 13? Dammit all! That can't be you! What are you doing on this channel?"

"Long story, help us out, or you won't get to hear it! We've got a few enemy tanks on the road closing in on us. Think you can help us out from the air?"

"I'll see what I can do, give me your tacsit."

I explained that we had seen a few tanks belonging to the yeerks about four minuets ago, and that they where a new kind of tank that we had no experience with. He couldn't miss them, even from the air as they where HUGE. Bigger then even an Overlord tank, and had a speed of roughly 300 Miles per hour with some kind of rocket engine.

Supreme Commander Romanov

"Hey, Commander, I just got a message from Yellow 13. He's okay, but there are four really big enemy tanks coming his way. Requesting permission to break off and engage."

"Permission denied. Follow my lead. You have no bombs, or anything that can dent those tanks. I have a laser. Keep me covered."

"Roger that, sir."

"Target sighted! Engaging!"

I went into a dive-bomb firing my laser into the lead tank, slicing it in half. Then I adjusted my flight path and make a line in the ground sending the laser smashing into the other tanks. After that, I did a quick damage assessment. Five of the tanks where burning, while another three lay broken. There was only one tank left. I went in for another attack when I heard the scream over my headset that indicates a fire-control radar on my aircraft, and then heard it intensify into shrill shrieks as six SAMs fired up at me. I broke off immediately, and started dumping chaff and flares. It confused three of the missiles, but the other two kept following me. i went to an altitude of 50 feet, and tore head-long for the tank, then pulled up at the last possible second causing the missiles to become confused and target the tank.

The missiles went right down the main barrel, causing a massive explosion as the IRBM it was carrying ignited and slammed into the barrel coverings, which where then trying to close. I was thrown into the air with tremendous force and almost went into a pancake dive afterward.

After seeing the destruction of there super-tanks, the remaining yeerk forces retreated, and the controllers in the city surrendered en mass. I went back to the Hrimfaxi, which was now in New York City Harbour, and landed. Once back on the sub, I ordered a SAR unit out to pick up Havoc, and to see if Yellow 13 had changed his mind. If he didn't, I gave him my orders as follows

To: Captain Patrick "Bird Dog" Roy

Subject: orders as of this point

From: Supreme Commander Boris Romanov

You are to hereby until your return to base is to make weekly reports of your activities. Be sure to include when you are coming back to base, and IF POSSIBLE anyone you are bringing along.

I made sure that the helicopter pilot wouldn't forget that, and I also let him know of something I saw in Jeremy's mansion. An artefact of some kind, but it look familiar, and asked him to get it, if possible.


End file.
